Teamwork for Organization Success - Essay Example

Innovation is fostered and/or hindered by the organizational management and the attitude thereof. However, it is good to remember that vision, consistency, and articulate argument makes even minority groups (workgroups in huge organizations are minority groups) effect change. Minorities need to be (or at least appear to be) autonomous and not working in opposition to the group’s interest. It is good to remember that resistance would be faced, and should be expected.

Characteristics of innovative teams, which are actually in the minority include: clear vision, everyone should have the same vision and goal; communication, which needs to be adequate and consistent as assumptions need to be cleared out too; flexibility, willing to listen to others outside the team as well, especially when the team’s ideas are being presented to them; persistence, adaptability does not mean abandoning ideas; participation, include as many people in the team as possible.

Resistance to team working include: Lack of belief in team working, there is skepticism about the efficiency of the team working on a managerial level, however, it is good to remember that not all groups are a “team.” Personal threat and anxiety: team members need a certain amount of trust to be developed, which can take time, along with overcoming fears about having their faults or mistakes exposed in a group. Organizational resistance: when organizations do not have a robust perform ethic it is pointless to expect them to implement teamwork. Teams don’t work when there is a lack of autonomy, lack of support, and commitment, the team is too large, lack of resources, lack of feedback/recognition, or when, despite being a team, the organization employs a competitive individual appraisal.

Pitfalls of implementing teamwork include misusing the term team: the team should function like one. Imposing an inappropriate amount of authority, whether too much or too little, hinders team performance as the former results in no independence, and the latter in apathy or anarchy on the part of team members. Tearing down organizational structures is not a good idea as, without a certain set of structures, teams cannot work well. The organization needs to offer support to the team by offering the team its resources, which include training sessions, self-learning opportunities, information systems, and other material resources. The organizations should not assume that the staff is willing and trained to work in teams. It might need coaxing, encouragement, and training to achieve that.